Thursday, 26 May 2011

King Arthur's Summer Solstice

My name is Arthur, I am he,
Once and Future, born to be.
Celtic Chieftain, Knight of Old,
I am the story as foretold.
Loyal Knights, must come to me,
Bowing to their destiny.
Where ’er we find them, we’ll right wrong,
For this must always be our song.
The Cauldron and the Cross unite,
Christian and Pagan, join our fight.
To re-unite the Celtic creed,
In it’s time of greatest need.

From the Rallying Song c. Arthur Pendragon 1987

There are tales, and there are stories,
Of Arthur and his Knights.
Of Standing Stones and Circles,
And ancient Battle sites.
But the place that figures most, is not a place at all,
‘tis Castle Camelot, without a Castle wall.
You’ll not find it on a map, or posted on a sign,
But it’s there wherever we gather and partake of the wine.

King Arthur Pendragon, crowned 'Raised Druid King of Britain' on 3 January 1998 on the ancient Coronation Stone by representatives from 5 Druid Orders, is also the Titular Head and Chosen Chief of The Loyal Arthurian Warband, Lawband, Clawband and Warband, or as may be called, Wizards, Witches and Warriors. King Arthur is a Pagan Priest, and Druid Swordbearer with an unshakeable belief in the Divine and his place in this system and most widely known for his role as an environmentalist, and Eco-warrior. What is best for the nation (Pendragon)must come first, what is best for the tribe (King) second, and what is best for the man (Arthur) last. His battles with the British Government (in the form of English Heritage) and campaigns for the right of everybody to enter Stonehenge at the Solstices have earned him great respect among many.
In 1998 with assistance of Liberty who acted as his Counsel, Arthur claimed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg that because of the exclusion zone around Stonehenge, his freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression were restricted. Although the court decided in favour of the UK government, Arthur can be justified in claiming victory as the exclusion zone around Stonehenge was never repeated and in 2000 full public access to Stonehenge was officially granted for those celebrating the solstices. King Arthur has also written of his experiences in The Trials of Arthur: The Life and Times of a Modern-Day King

Druid members of LAW may be found at Avebury on the nearest Saturday to celebrations of the eight-fold wheel, in London on Primrose Hill on the nearest Sunday to each Solstice and Equinox and at Stonehenge on the dawn of the Solstices and Equinoxes, performing public Ritual and Ceremony (English Heritage & Wiltshire Constabulary permitting).The Loyal Arthurian Warband is a vast network of people working together throughout the world towards a vision of Truth, Honour & Justice.

The Historical-Literary Origins of King Arthur;

King Arthur was a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, depicted in the 12thC by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the King who defeated the Saxons and united Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul (History of the Kings of Britain). However the earliest literary references to King Arthur are in ancient Welsh and Breton sources, in which King Arthur defends Britain from human and supernatural enemies and is a magical figure associated with the Welsh Otherworld of Annwn. In the early 19th C, reawakened interest in King Arthur, established a new code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen based on the chivalric ideals that he embodied and in the 20thC interest has continued through novels such as T. H. White's The Once and Future King (1958) and Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1982). T. H. White's novel was adapted into the musical Camelot in 1960 and this was made into a film in 1967. A recurrent and now realised theme of Arthurian literature is the notion that he would one day return to save his people.

The Sumer Solstice;

The ancient Summer Solstice festivals are still widely celebrated in Britain, Cornwall, Ireland and parts of Northern Europe.
In the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is when the sun reaches it farthest point north of the Celestial Equator. This day has the greatest amount of time between sunrise and sunset making it the longest day and shortest night of the year and falls around June 21st every year. In the southern hemisphere, the winter and summer solstices are reversed.
In Norse traditions this time of year is as sacred as the Yule. The sun goddess Sunna is celebrated as she drives the sun-bearing chariot across the sky and Balder, the God of light, is honored and sacrificed, to be reborn again at Yule.

The Midsummer Solstice, also referred to by Neopagans as Litha, signifies the turning point of the Summer Season in the cycle of the year.
The Goddess is now at her most fertile as the seed planted earlier in her womb grows with the sun. She blossoms as the Earth overflows with flowers and fruit and the first harvest is a time of special joy. Handfasting ceremonies and weddings at this time demonstrate enduring ties with the Druids' celebration of this day as the 'wedding of Heaven and Earth' resulting in the belief of a 'lucky wedding in June'.
The Sun King is also at His strongest now, and due to the merry making of Beltane and His marriage to the Goddess, He has become a father bringing the heat of Summer and the promise of a great harvest which ensures the continuity of life in the face of the oncoming darkness of winter.
Wiccans and other Pagans incorporate the dying vegetation God into their rites, as the Oak King God of the waxing year gives way to the Holly King God of the waning year. In this tradition the two sides of nature and of ourselves are honored, the light and the dark.
Forces of magic also abound as fairies, elves and other spirits roam our world, because this Solstice is one of the turning points of the year, a time when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. The most well-known example of this is in Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which has Oberon and Titania as fairy King and Queen.
This Solstice is celebrated most notably in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where thousands gather to welcome the sunrise.

About Stonehenge;

Stonehenge has been used over 5000 years as a temple, burial ground, a place of gathering, for magic, for ritual, and as an observatory.
Built between 3200 BC and 1600 BC, Stonehenge lies 9miles north of Salisbury Hill in Wiltshire and is the world's earliest earthwork to contain specific lunar and solar alignments, composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. That the Summer Solstice Sun rose close to the Heel Stone, and the Sun's first rays shone into the centre of the monument portrays the particular importance placed by its builders on the Solstice and Equinox points of the year.
Many spiritual beliefs still center on Stonehege, considering the location a cross roads of power and central hub of influentual ley lines alive with earth energy.
I include one such view here;
Stonehenge is actually far more than a marvellous astrological device, or a place for religious celebration... it was actually a trans-dimensional portal, a place where incarnate humans could communicate with spirit, where energies (or information) are 'communicated' from one dimension to another...Wisdom flowed from higher dimensions to the 'priesthood', to help the growth of humanity...linking lower energies (or humanity) and higher wisdom.
It is not a coincidence that Stonehenge was located in Britain, as Britain lies on an important planetary ley line configuration, which has long acted as a portal to bring changes to humanity, and that is why Britain has produced so many pioneers in many fields, and still today encourages transformation. Stonehenge was designed as a device to help this planet evolve, it is a Stargate!'' says Sahar Huneidi.

Hi Eliseo, as it is in King Arthur,s poem that The Couldron and the Cross unite,he also said it was ok when I asked if this outfit would be ok for the avatar, it is otherwise very similar to the one he actually wears.

Wonderful...thanks for the excellent commentary and we know what to expect....god willing some day hope to make it to the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge..once in a lifetime opportunity to see the sunrise above the stones...reading your blog filled a lot of gaps by answering many a query i had.....all good luck for the movie turning out the way you want...as usual kudos to you.